Vanessa Lane won three events and Tyler Tappe won two events as the Pequot Lakes girls were third and the boys finished fifth at the Detroit Lakes Invitational on Thursday, May 2. Lane and Tappe were chosen male and female most valuable athletes for their efforts.

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Lane won the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter dashes as the Patriots finished with 101 points. Detroit Lakes was first with 178 while Bemidji was second with 115.33. The Patriots 4x100 girls’ relay also triumphed while the 4x200 relay was second.

“This meet is a nice opportunity to get all of our kids in events and it is nice to compete against Class AA schools and do well,” said Pequot Lakes coach Brian Kazmierczak. “Vanessa (Lane) ran so well, and continues to look as strong as ever. Chloe (Bermel) and Abby (Palmer) ran well in the relays, too.

“We are starting to see some younger athletes really blossoming into some top positions on the varsity team. Grace McGuire ran strong, and Kiersten Olson, Sam Littman and Madi McMonigal are all starting to provide us some depth in the running events.”

Kazmierczak said the Patriots’ distance runners are also showing improvement. “They have been competing with each other all year, and now they are learning how to push themselves,” he said. “Our field events are growing. Ellie (Erholtz) has thrown better this season, but continues her great year. Deb Mitchell improved by three feet in this meet. Abby (Palmer) and Vanessa (Lane) continue to jump well and Chloe (Bermel) and Ashley (Abear) continue to get personal records in the pole vault.”

“The kids had some good competition with the bigger schools like Moorhead, Bemidji and Fergus Falls,” said Pequot Lakes coach Dave Guenther. “Plus there were some schools that we normally do not get a chance to compete against.

“When you run against higher level competitors, you tend to run harder, jump father, and it just seems to get the adrenaline going more. The meet helps us get ready for some big meets in the next couple of weeks.”

Guenther talked about admirable individual efforts from his athletes.

“Our throwers are dong a nice job with Travis (Jacobson) and Keegan (Johnson) turning in good throws,” he said. “Our sprinters are showing some real development, which of course will get our relays teams up there too. Our veteran crew of long distance guys like Sean Murray, Mike Ryan and Nate McDonald had a good night, too. Overall, considering the cold weather, I was happy with the kids’ performances.”

Pequot Lakes was scheduled to compete at the Section 8AA True Team meet at Detroit Lakes on Tuesday, May 7. The Patriots then travel to Blake on Thursday, May 9.